The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1887-03-25

ed the best judgment Of what was best 20
he done in all tie treatment Of my body
1 simply did everything that commended
itself to my judgment as the best thing to
be done to regain my health" And She
said, u have continued the practice from
that time until this and she is to-day a
well-preserved, happy and useful wo-
man.
Now what that lady did in the treatment
of her body, is simply what | say IS the
secret Of life of everybody under all cir
cumstances, in ali actions, in the whole of
life--simple conformity to the present pos
tive conviction concerning what is right
And this brings me to my concluding
thought, and that is of voluntarily direct
ing the mind to what is real and good, not
simply waiting until somebody thrusts it
upon us, not simply waiting until some
book accidentally comes to our attention,
but voluntarily doing what seems to me
good.
This leads me to speak of single recent
experience. When left the Methodist
Episcopal church, left it because Of
negation on the one side and because of a
positive belief that it was not right or hon
orable to remain while my mind entertain
ed that negation. As the result of that
for some weeks-and it is only two months
since left Tiny mind dwelt almost en-
tirely ON the negative 1t was not good
way to live. There were many letters
sent to me, all of them. with a single ex-
ception perfectly kind in tone, and some
of them BEAUTIFULLY stimulating in
thought. read them all carefully There
were many tracts. pamphlets, books and
papers sent me. | read most of them, in
part if not entirely. Some help came, but
there was one thing that helped me more
than all other things combined and that
was this: two weeks ago last Friday at
the invitation Of your pastor visited him.
After conversation that helped me, he in
yited me to preach here. 1t was unex-
pected. | was not prepared to say yes. |
was not prepared to say no. If / had been
compelled to say yes or no in five minutes,
it would have been at that moment no;
but the invitation was in my mind when
left, and said in my heart, ''that man is
my brother The interview did me good.
but the invitation led to more good than
the interview, and more than all things
combined during the last two months 1t
turned my mind powerfully toward the
positive; and without selecting any specific
subject during the week, said Il will give
myself a week to think about it. At the
end of the week, after thinking on the pos
tive side sufficiently to he able to say
Eyes, | wrote and expressed my willing
ness. and then said tomyself, Il " i'll select
some plain, practical important question:
and will endeavor to find an answer to
that question that is positive, aud not an
answer to suit some creed. not an answer
to suit some man or TO agree to my past
views but an answer that seems to me
that answer ! selected this question
from number that occurred to me. and
will say that that dwelling of the mind
during the past week upon the positive
line. not going to books or to human au
thorities, but DIV cling upon what is posi-
tive, has done more to enable me 10 see
that still have the good and the true IN
me and the good and the true ahead Of me
to live for; it has done more to strengthen
my moral purpose. 1t has done more to
direct my attention TO the universe and to
its unseen supreme ruler, it has done more
to cause me TO desire TO be useful man
and to appeal to that which is best in peo-
pie to make the world better. II has done
more to give me heart rest than anything
else during the past TIVE months, and this
brief recent experience is a powerful ex-
hortation to me TO keep my mind upon the
positive, the good and the real, and to feed
upon that in thought, in purpose, in speech
and in conduct.